Colleen's thoughts on writing, directing and coaching, and her unique take on life itself!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Witness tampering by the White House

You know those people who *used* to be employed by the Bush administration who have been told not to testify?

Those folks are now ordinary, private citizens.

They've told congress over and over again that President Bush instructed them not to testify or not to give congress any information they seek or both.

Here's the deal: If I publicly told a *former* employee not to testify in a courtroom or for congress? I would be, um, arrested and tried and found guilty of witness tampering.

Which would put me in jail. For a long time.

Apparently the president doesn't think any witness tampering laws apply to him ... not because he's the president (these laws do apply) ... but because he's George W. Bush, a president who doesn't seem to understand how government and the rule of law work in the US.

On that basis, if witnesses refuse to testify, they would be open to criminal charges of contempt.

Some would argue that under the Nuremberg Rules, Agreement and Principles, as well as several articles of the United Nations Charter that the US invasion of Iraq is illegal.

You know, I get no thrill from talking about my US president this way. In fact, it just plain hurts.

I simply can't believe someone who is so completely without conscience or integrity or knowledge was elected by us to run our nation - a country that prides itself in the promise of the US Constitution and whose integrity is supposed to be upheld by the rule of law.

Only recently Bush indicated that finding the person in his administration who outed an undercover CIA agent wasn't high on his list. He hoped they would step forward, but he wasn't interested in investigating an act considered treasonous in time of war -- identifying an undercover CIA agent.

Apparently he wont' take any legal action because it's one of his people and he's just loyal to his loyal peeps.

Like I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whose jail sentence was commuted by Bush because Libby knows where all the Bush administration skeletons are hidden in all those White House closets (I mean this *only* as a colloquialism!) and would probably be too tempted to share that information if he were sitting in jail with not much else to do.

It is so sad. I swear, I do not understand why people do not take responsibility for their actions when they have harmed others. Bush says he commuted Libby's sentence because it was tough on his wife and kids (which under the law judges are not supposed to consider when they sentence convicted criminals).

It seems to me that the best thing Libby could do for his family - especially his children - is be a good role model and man up, taking responsibility for hurting a lot of people and their families through his illegal actions.